Adam Braun

  • New York Times & Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author, 'The Promise of a Pencil'
  • Founder, Pencils of Promise
  • Founder and CEO, MissionU - a 21st-century higher education company teaching hard and soft skills for the new economy
  • Recipient of the Jefferson Award - the nation's oldest and most prestigious award for public service

Coca-Cola, Kraft, and Great-West Life have all hosted New York Times and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author Adam Braun and praised him as “The best speaker I’ve ever seen in the history of our company’s offsite events.” (Coca-Cola HBC); “The feeling was unanimous, the best speaker we’ve ever had at an offsite.” (Kraft Brands); “We all agreed that he is someone to watch over the next few years.” (Great-West Life)

Adam Braun knows how to motivate people to powerful action and organizations who bring Adam to their event are seeing the difference. His TEDTalk "The Five Phrases That Can Change Your Life," has been viewed 1.3 million times. 

The Founder of Pencils Of Promise, Adam Braun’s story is how one young man turned $25 into more than 525 schools, serving 100,000 students around the world, and built a global community which is well on its way to achieving its goal of making a quality education a possibility for everyone. His story proves that anyone can take small steps to lead a successful and significant life. 

Adam's book, The Promise of a Pencil, did not become a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller just because it was a great story; it became a sought-after guide for achieving goals and dreams and in the book Adam outlines chapters that provide actionable steps toward success. Adam empowers audiences to discover their next big idea, and he gives them guideposts for a path forward. Watch him in action in this inspiring presentation:  Creating Extraordinary Change in Life & Business

Adam went on to become Founder & CEO of MissionU, a 21st-century higher education company teaching hard and soft skills for the new economy. MissionU was an early pioneer in remote learning for workforce development that led to it being named to Fast Company's "Most Innovative Companies" in 2018, and it was acquired by WeWork later that year.

By the age of 31 Adam was already named to Business Insider’s 40 Under 40, Wired magazine‘s 50 People Who Are Changing the World, and was selected as one of the World Economic Forum’s first ten Global Shapers. Braun was previously nominated for the TED Prize and has received the nation's oldest and most prestigious award for public service, the Jefferson Award. 

 

 

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Past Hosts Include:
  • Kraft Brands
  • Microsoft
  • JP Morgan
  • Heart of Illinois United Way
  • Google
  • The Great-West Life Assurance Company
  • Mondelez International
  • Goldman Sachs
  • COX Communications
  • Pathways For Children
Rave Reviews About Adam Braun
Adam’s talk was engaging, powerful and tailored to the audience he was a addressing. The reviews were overwhelmingly positive. He had the sell- out crowd of 700 people mesmerized- and that was at an early morning breakfast! Throughout the day, people were commenting and mentioning points that he made in his presentation. He had the right balance of information, tips, humor and stirring stories.

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Talks & Conversations with Adam Braun
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The Innovator’s Edge | Building a Future-Ready Organization

In a world characterized by rapid change and uncertainty, the ability to anticipate future trends is a critical leadership skill. This speech explores the strategies and techniques that the most successful leaders employ to gain a competitive edge. In this riveting presentation, Braun delves into th ...

In a world characterized by rapid change and uncertainty, the ability to anticipate future trends is a critical leadership skill. This speech explores the strategies and techniques that the most successful leaders employ to gain a competitive edge.

In this riveting presentation, Braun delves into the art of foresight, discussing how to identify emerging trends, analyze potential disruptions, and assess future scenarios. He then explores the importance of cultivating a culture of innovation and experimentation, which enables organizations to adapt and thrive in a dynamic environment. Through storytelling, science and audience engagement, every attendee will gain valuable insights into how to develop their own foresight skills and inspire their organizations to build for the future, today.

Audience Takeaways:

  • Unleash your visionary spark by discovering your next groundbreaking idea
  • Transform vision into action: Implement tactical steps to bring your idea to life  How to engage others to build a movement around your ideas
  • How to convert early wins into sustained and enduring progress

Build For Where The World Is Headed | Unlocking Innovation in a Rapidly Changing World

How do the world’s most successful leaders navigate uncertainty in a rapidly changing world? Through a teachable four-step framework, Adam Braun shows you how great companies anticipate tomorrow’s reality, today. In this call-to- action of a talk, Braun shares enlightening examples of how others hav ...

How do the world’s most successful leaders navigate uncertainty in a rapidly changing world? Through a teachable four-step framework, Adam Braun shows you how great companies anticipate tomorrow’s reality, today. In this call-to- action of a talk, Braun shares enlightening examples of how others have navigated through unprecedented rates of change to find enduring success, the emerging trends that will shape where we’re headed next, and how to embolden your team to take the concrete actions to thrive in the midst of transformation.

Drawing from two decades of research and first-hand experiences that come to life in this riveting talk, Braun will have you on the edge of your seat and ready to take action so that you too are ready to lean into the benefits of rapid innovation.

Audience Takeaways:

  • Learn the science of how organizations and individuals best navigate change
  • Discover how to make bold, calculated decisions to enhance trust and success  Remove fear and restore a sense of optimism in your people
  • Define a course of action to ensure success within transformation

The Mindset of Compounding Greatness | Creating a Sustainable Competitive Advantage

What’s the difference between a one time success and those that build a culture that produces an enduring legacy? It’s a mindset of compounding greatness. In this keynote, NY Times bestselling author and award-winning entrepreneur Adam Braun shares the five keys that the most successful teams in the ...

What’s the difference between a one time success and those that build a culture that produces an enduring legacy? It’s a mindset of compounding greatness.

In this keynote, NY Times bestselling author and award-winning entrepreneur Adam Braun shares the five keys that the most successful teams in the world have imbued into their mentality and processes to create repeatable, resounding successes that powers year-over-year growth and evolution.

Through engaging storytelling filled with simple memorable phrases and proven frameworks that teams can start implementing right away in their daily rhythms and habits, Braun elevates not just every attendee’s intentions, but inspires and enables teams to immediately convert their boldest aspirations into the small calculated bets that will drive your most powerful ambitions to become reality.

Audience Takeaways

  • Learn how to instill a mindset of compounding greatness within teams, focusing on incremental improvements that drive sustained success
  • Gain tools to enhance daily routines and processes that support individuals to navigate change and achieve consistent peak performance
  • Develop your tangible steps to convert ambitious goals into practical actions with every team member contributing to compounding successes

Ordinary Person, Extraordinary Change | How Every Person Can Affect The Masses

Most people believe one person can’t make a difference. Adam Braun proves otherwise by captivating audiences with his story of being an ordinary person, creating extraordinary change — something he believes everyone can do. In this inspirational presentation, Braun shares his journey from an ordinar ...

Most people believe one person can’t make a difference. Adam Braun proves otherwise by captivating audiences with his story of being an ordinary person, creating extraordinary change — something he believes everyone can do. In this inspirational presentation, Braun shares his journey from an ordinary intern to becoming a 3x entrepreneur starting organizations that have raised over $100M and impacted millions of lives.

Rooted in a compelling round-the-world story with humorous twists and turns, Braun anchors this speech around key learnings that can serve as guideposts when facing the most challenging moments in our careers and lives. This is the talk that audiences will remember and speak about for years.

Audience Takeaways:

  • How to discover your next big idea
  • Tactical steps to turn that big idea into action
  • Best practices to engage those around you to build a movement  Lessons to convert inspiration into enduring growth

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Biography

Adam Braun is a 3x award-winning entrepreneur,  NY Times & WSJ bestselling author, and a renowned keynote speaker on leadership and innovation. His riveting, inspiring talks have been watched more than 3 million times, and each one shares actionable lessons to help leaders navigate uncertainty, unleash their visionary spark, and build a better tomorrow.

As CEO of Clarasight, the technology company whose clients represent more than $3T in market value and Founder of Pencils of Promise, the organization he started with $25 that has built more than 600 schools around the world, his talks are rooted in the authentic first-hand lessons learned through successes and struggles in building pioneering companies at the frontlines of industry innovation.

His journey has taken him to 75 countries to identify how the world's best leaders build a mindset of compounding greatness and navigate uncertainty to shape the future. He has been featured as a speaker at The White House, Harvard Business School and countless Fortune 500 companies, industry associations and universities.

His book, The Promise of a Pencil: How an Ordinary Person Can Create Extraordinary Change, is an international bestseller that debuted at #2 on the NY Times bestsellers list. He has also been named to Business Insider’s 40 Under 40, Wired’s 50 People Who Will Change the World, and is the recipient of the Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Award.